FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
COP15 again highlighted the importance of ensuring money moves in the right direction to bring about lasting environmental protection. One example is The Nature Conservancy’s recent purchase of a coral reef insurance policy to protect Hawai‘i’s marine environment from damage by hurricanes or tropical storms.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
The mine’s operator and UK government pledge to offset nearly 500,000 annual tons of emissions through carbon credits; but the clear greenwashing has been lambasted by critics the world over.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
The new startup offers a regenerative ‘tree burial’ service that reimagines cemeteries as forests — enabling the dearly departed to truly give back to the land and encouraging younger generations to think about death in new ways.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Inspired by nature, SolarBotanic’s solar trees use leaf-shaped, thin-film, photovoltaic nanotechnology to harness both sun and eventually wind energy to power houses, charge EVs or be stored for future use.
COLLABORATION & CO-CREATION -
The first COP took place in 1995 — 27 years later, and it’s easy to understand the scepticism. We’re still quite a long way from universal adoption by all nations and private sector actors of net-zero strategies that align with the urgent timescales science tells us are needed. But no other issue brings 198
nation states together in this way.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Self-reported data from over 7,700 companies that responded to questions on biodiversity through CDP’s climate change questionnaire shows they are ready to disclose on biodiversity, sending a powerful signal to negotiators ahead of
COP15.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
In 2021, WSL launched WAOO to protect and conserve surf ecosystems around the world. Over the 2022 tour season, it collaborated with community organizations, indigenous groups, surfers and others on activations including replanting native coastal vegetation in Hawaii, removing plastic pollution from Indonesian waterways, and restoring coral reefs in Tahiti.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
This is the first of three daily updates from the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2022. Day one started a week that focuses not on holding individual
companies to account, but where the systems that will enable this are being framed.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
COP27 ended with an agreement to create a funding facility to compensate vulnerable nations for ‘loss and damage’ from climate disasters; but weakened language around the phase-out of fossil fuels opens a dangerous loophole that could threaten decarbonization before it’s too late.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
From COP27, we see more and more business initiatives focused on not only reaching sustainability, but averting a climate crisis and achieving nature positivity — but have climate-fueled forest fires already nullified our chances at an effective carbon market?
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
The second cohort of the IBM Sustainability Accelerator comprises five organizations helping marginalized communities get just and equitable access to sustainable energy resources around the world.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
New research from Forum for the Future and four healthcare giants calls on businesses, policymakers and the finance community to accelerate progress against the mounting threats to human health from the climate crisis.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
By supporting smallholders to access agricultural innovation on their farms and in their communities, it will enable them to both thrive in a changing climate and contribute to tackling its causes.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
The unique partnership aims to advance offshore wind
deployment that enhances ocean biodiversity, and drive a global shift towards addressing both climate and biodiversity goals.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
Naumi Hotels is raising the bar for eco-tourism with its holistic, conscious model — which includes repurposing existing buildings, incorporating living elements and providing employment for low-income women in India.
FROM PURPOSE TO ACTION: BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE TOGETHER -
In Latin America, where recycling rates remain below 10%, grassroots circular solutions are slowly beginning to scale — thanks to growing legitimacy, education, organization and protections for informal waste workers, who remain the backbone of the region’s collection and recycling infrastructure.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS -
By celebrating the growers behind popular chocolate and tea brands, the murals remind the public to ‘Choose the world you want’ by supporting products and brands that help give farmers a sustainable livelihood.
COLLABORATION & CO-CREATION -
No matter where your company is in its sustainability journey, the sooner it joins or initiates a collaboration with industry peers, the better. This guide should be in every sustainability professional’s back pocket when defining an ESG strategy.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Commercial real estate is the second-largest consumer of publicly supplied water in the US. Imagine if we came together to tackle this problem head on! Here are four recommendations for how property managers and building owners can lead the way.
NEW METRICS -
The W+ Standard is the first globally recognized framework that measures and monetizes women’s empowerment. Empower Co. is engaging with companies keen to cement their women’s-empowerment programs with robust data — and shift the mindset around climate action from mitigation to net positivity.